3 killed at Cracker Barrel restaurant in Ohio

Published: April 13, 2012 9:20AM

BROOKLYN, Ohio (AP) -- Police shot and killed an armed man at a crowded Cracker Barrel restaurant where a woman and a girl had been killed and another person was wounded, sending customers fleeing out the back door.

The restaurant said the violence appeared to be the result of a domestic dispute between two customers. Authorities said a woman called 911 from the restaurant Thursday night, saying her husband was upset because she told him she was leaving him. He left the restaurant and was circling the parking lot, the woman told police.

Officers heard gunshots when they arrived and saw an armed man leaving the restaurant, which is located in a busy commercial corridor near Interstate 480 just south of Cleveland.

Police Chief Scott Mielke said officers shot him when he refused to surrender. The wounded person was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center but no condition was available.

Investigators remained at the scene until dawn Friday.

Police couldn't immediately say Friday whether the other victims were shot or describe any relationship between the victims and armed man. The names weren't released.

An eyewitness inside the restaurant, Robert Lovelace, told WKYC-TV that the shooting scene was chaotic.

"We all ran," Lovelace said. He said people in the restaurant didn't know what was happening. "We just told them, 'Look, let's get out of here,'" he said.

The manager helped move people to safety through a rear door, the company said.

The restaurant will remain closed until the investigation is completed, Cracker Barrel spokeswoman Julie K. Davis said in an email from corporate offices in Lebanon, Tenn.

"This appears to be the result of a domestic dispute between two guests and no Cracker Barrel employees were involved," she said.